7 


""Z<^ 


LITERATURE. 


Some    Recent    Hymnaries. 

By  the  Rev.  Robert  Westly  Peach. 
I. 

The  years  of  the  closing  decade  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  thus  far  spent  have  been 
marked  by  a  distinct  advance  in  the  compila- 
tion and  editing  of  hymnaries.  The  selection 
of  hymns  has  been  carried  forward  in  a  spirit 
of  freedom  from  the  authority  of  mere 
names,  and  of  reliance  upon  the  guidance  of 
usage,  taste  and  sober  judgment.  And  when 
the  hymns  have  been  chosen,  conscientious 
and  scholarly  pains  have  not  been  spared  to 
fix  upon  a  text  which  will  tend  to  become 
standard,  because  of  its  being,  in  each  case, 
the  most  nearly  perfect  form  obtainable  of  the 
hymn  in  question.  Editors  have  made  very 
few  changes;  but  they  have  freelv  admitted 
every  alteration  which,  after  having  been 
tested,  has  widely  commended  itself  to  the 
affections  of  worshipers;  and  they  have  un- 
dertaken vast  labors  to  make  a  history  of  al- 
terations, additions  and  dates,  all  in  the  in- 
terest of  honesty  and  culture. 

By  "  freedom  from  the  authority  of  mere 
names "  is  meant  that  the  discovery  of  a 
credit  to  Watts,  Doddridge,  the  Wesleys, 
Miss  Steele,  the  Olney  hymnists,  Montgom- 
ery, Neale  or  Bonar,  for  examples,  places  the 
compiler  under  no  sense  of  obligation  to  in- 
clude any  given  hymn.  His  subjection  is 
acknowledged  to  two  canons.  One  may  again 
be  described  as  "  taste  and  sober  judgment;  " 
the  other  is  Use.  In  his  submission  to  the 
latter  the  compiler  is  generally  wiser  than 
his  critics,  who  tell  him  insistently  to  admit 
only  "  good  poetry  and  good  hymns."  He 
preserves  many  a  good  old  hymn  which  is 
poor  poetry,  and  gains  the  gratitude  of  many 
a  worshiper,  who  still  wants  to  sing  "  Am  I 
a  Soldier  of  the  Cross,"  and  "  Awake,  My 
Soul,  Stretch  Every  Nerve."  It  is  true  that 
he  who  makes  his  major  canon  Use  will  have 
a  long  list  of  pieces  which  would  not  find 
place  in  a  worthy  anthology  of  religious 
verse;  and  it  is  equally  true  that  he  who  is 
strenuous  for  good   poetry,   seeking  praise- 


lyrics,  shunning  the  didactic,  making  Taste 
his  major  canon,  will  have  as  long  a  list  of 
pieces  which  the  people  will  not  sing.  It  is 
a  need  of  worshipers  that  their  hymns  shall 
be  able  to  increase  their  faith  and  deepen 
their  devotional  spirit,  as  well  as  give  ex- 
pression to  their  praises. 

An  analytical  estimate  of  seven  notable 
hymnaries  which  have  been  put  forth  since 
the  beginning  of  1S90  is  herewith  presented. 

In  that  year  Mr.  Edwin  A.  Bedell  gave  us 
"  The  Church  Hymnary,"  which  was  after- 
ward adopted  by  the  Reformed  Church  of 
North  America  and  is  in  use  in  many  Congre- 
gational and  Presbyterian  churches.  If  we 
compare  it  with  the  leading  books  of  the 
years  1874-1885,  in  this  country,  the  first  dif- 
ference which  impresses  us  is  that  of  the 
treatment  of  eighteenth  century  writers.  In 
the  hymn-books  of  the  Baptist,  Presbyterian 
and  Protestant  Episcopal  churches,  Dr.  Rob- 
inson's "  Spiritual  Songs  "  and  "  Laudes  Do- 
mini," Hitchcock. Eddy  and  Schaff's  "Hymns 
and  Songs  of  Praise,"  and  "  Carmina  Sancto- 
rum *'  (with  Mudge  in  the  place  of  Schaff),  all 
published  during  the  period  named,  Watts 
has  an  average  of  one  hundred  and  thirty 
hymns  (altho  the  Episcopal  book  had  but 
thirty-six);  Doddridge  has  an  average  of  thir- 
ty, Wesley  forty-eight,  Miss  Steele  nineteen 
and  Newton  twenty-three.  "  The  Church 
Hymnary  "  reduces  Watts  to  seventy,  Dod- 
dridge to  twenty,  Wesley  to  forty-two,  Miss 
Steele  to  eight  and  Newton  to  fifteen.  Add- 
ing five  other  eighteenth  century  writers — 
John  Weslev,  Beddome,  Toplady,  Stennett 
and  Cowper— the  ten  furnish  two-fifths  of 
the  liymns  in  the  Presbyterian  hymnal  of 
1874,  about  one-third  of  "  Hymns  and  Songs 
of  Praise,"  "  Spiritual  Songs  "  and  the  Bap- 
tist hymnal  of  1883 ;  one-fourth  of  "  Laudes 
Domini "  and  "  Carmina  Sanctorum,"  and 
but  a  little  over  one-sixth  of  "  The  Church 
Hymnary."  This  reducing  and  sifting  proc- 
ess is  an  excellence,  when  not  carried  too 
far.  Every  .one  of  the  best-loved  hymns  of 
these  and  others  of  the  older  writers  should 
be  retained,  except  for  some  very  weighty 

2961 


2962 


The  Independent 


opposing  reason,  and  in  addition  as  many 
more  as  may  be  judged  to  possess  spiritual 
truth  and  poetic  beauty.  Herein  "  The 
Church  Hymnary "  maintains  a  wise  bal- 
ance, on  the  whole,  tho  slightly  deficient  in 
the  hymns  of  Tate  and  Brady  and  John  Wes- 
ley. If  it  seems  to  have  proportionately 
few  of  Miss  Steele's  pieces,  and  a  surplusage 
of  Charles  Wesley's  and  Cowper's,  this  is  ex- 
actly in  keeping  with  the  best  judgment  of 
our  time. 

heading  hymnists  whose  literary  activity 
dated  from  the  opening  of  the  nineteenth 
century  to  twenty-five  years  ago  afford  a  sec- 
ond test.  Of  these  Montgomery  may  be  taken 
first,  as  founder  of  a  new  school  of  hymnol- 
ody,  and  Neale  last,  of  whom  hardly  less  can 
be  said,  for  his  translations  make  over  the 
productions  of  the  Latin  hymn-writers  into 
English  classics.  In  the  number  of  their 
hymns  in  current  use,  Neale  is  next  to  Watts 
and  Wesley,  and  Montgomery  stands  fourth. 
In  this  period  we  have  also  Heber,  Kelly, 
Lyte,  Hastings,  Keble,  Miss  Elliott,  Faber 
and  Alford.  "  The  Church  Hymnary  "  keeps 
rather  more  of  tne  strong  hymns  of  Hastings 
than  the  total  of  his  best,  and  falls  slightly 
short  in  the  case  of  Faber.  The  other  writers 
are  generously  represented  in  it— Heber,  Lyte 
and  Miss  Elliott  in  particular. 

In  the  matters  of  catholicity,  balance  and 
progressiveness,  an  important  test  must  be 
the  treatment  of  hymnists  of  note  who  have 
passed  away  during  the  quarter-century  just 
closing,  or  who  are  yet  alive.  There  are  six- 
teen who  hav.e  an  average  in  our  seven  books 
of  from  twenty-three  hymns  down  to  five. 
Bonar  stands  at  the  head,  and  is  next  to 
Montgomery  in  the  number  of  his  evangelical 
and  poetical  hymns  in  current  use.  The  oth- 
ers arc,  in  the  order  indicated:  Miss  Wink- 
worth,  Monsell,  How,  Ellerton,  Caswall,  Miss 
Havergal,  Wordsworth,  Palmer,  Baker, 
Thring,  Mrs.  Alexander,  Miss  Borthwick, 
Bickersteth,  Chandler  and  Dix.  "The  Church 
Hymnary"  is  strikingly  deficient  only  in  the 
hymns  of  Bishop  Mow.  hut  has  rather  too 
tc\v  of  Ellerton'n,  airs.  Alexander's  and  Miss 
BorthwiCK  s. 

There  are  about  fifty  other  writers  who 
have  each  one  hymn,  sometimes  two,  occur- 
ring in  all  seven  of  the  books,  and  other 
hymns  in  a  part  of  them,  but  not  enough  to 


average  five.  In  addition  there  are  nearly 
forty  writers  who  fail  to  obtain  admission 
into  at  least  one  book,  but  who  have  an  aver- 
age  of  from  one  to  four  pieces  in  the  others. 
"  The  Church  Hymnary  "  excludes  only  four 
of  these:  James  D.  Burns,  Cooke,  Maclagan 
and  Mrs.  Van  Alstyne.  They  have  a  total  of 
nineteen  hymns  (seven  well  known),  occur- 
ring thirty-eight  times,  in  a  part  or  all  of  the 
<  it  her  books. 

The  seven  books  have  one  hundred  and 
seventy  hymns  in  common:  and  one  hundred 
and  forty  more  are  in  six  of  them.  "  The 
Church  Hymnary  "  omits  only  four  of  these. 
One  hundred  and  seventy-five  hymns  are 
each  in  five  of  the  books,  and  of  these  it  has 
all  but  twenty-three.  Another  hundred  and 
fifty  hymns  or  thereabouts  are  in  four  of 
them.  Thus,  nine-tenths  of  the  large  body  of 
hymns  most  widely  favored  in  our  decade  are 
in  "The  Church  Hymnary." 

This  book  has  nearly  one  thousand  hymns, 
an  ample  number,  if  not  too  many;  for  each 
hymn  could  not  have  its  separate  tune  with- 
out making  too  bulky  a  volume,  and  only 
eight  hundred  tunes  are  given.  It  has  open. 
fair  pages.  Its  classifications  are  good,  al 
tho  by  an  oversight  Keble's  "There  is  a 
Book,  Who  Ruus  May  Bead  "  is  assigned  un- 
der "Holy  Scriptures."  ("In  Excelsis"  copies 
the  mistake.)  It  has  excellent  indexes  that 
of  authors  grouping  the  American  writers, 
which  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  it  is 
rich  in  our  home-born  praises.  Miss  Anna  B. 
Warner,  however,  is  not  represented,  altho 
her  beautiful  "We  Would  See  Jesus"  has 
found  a  wide  and  loving  acceptanee.  and  her 
children's  hymns  arc  sung  in  many  tongues. 
"The  Church  Hymnary"  has  only  nineteen 
pieces  assigned  to  children,  which  is  a  defi- 
ciency.  It  repeats  the  first  stanza  of  every 
hymn,  a  needless  waste  of  space.  Every 
thing  considered,  it  is  an  excellent  book. 

In  1802,  "The  Hymnal,  Bevised  and  En- 
larged." of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church 
took  permanent  form.  II  so  sharply  pruned 
the  old  away  that  barely  one-tenth  of  its 
numbers  are  supplied  by  our  ten  representa- 
tive writers  of  the  eighteenth  century-  Wes- 
ley is  not  poorlj  represented,  but  Watts  has 
only  sixteen  hymns,  Doddridge  seven,  and 
Newton  six.  Tate  and  Brady  among  the 
Older  writers  are  alone  in  its  marked   favor. 


Literature 


2963 


Writers  of  our  next  period  are  more  gener- 
ously treated  by  this  hymnary,  with  the  ex- 
ceptions of  Kelly,  who  has  but  seven  pieces, 
and  Hastings,  who  is  reduced  to  a  single 
hymn.  On  the  other  hand,  Alford  and  Neale 
it  unduly  favors,  the  latter  writer  holding  its 
place  of  honor,  with  twenty-nine  numbers. 

Of  the  later  hymnists,  Bonar  is  represented 
by  only  one-third  as  many  hymns  as  Neale. 
ten,  while  our  pre-eminent  American.  Dr. 
Palmer,  has  only  three.  Miss  Winkworth 
and  Miss  Borthwick  also  are  rather  under- 
valued. But  this  Episcopal  hymnal  is  ex- 
cessively devoted  to  Thrin.g,  and  shows  a 
marked  partiality  to  Caswall,  Baker.  Mrs. 
Alexander.  Ellerton,  Hew.  Bickersteth  and 
Dix.  This  book  stands  alone  in  bearing 
strongly  the  marks  of  denominational  prefer- 
ence. 

Not  a  single  hymn  of  Anstice,  Leonard  Ba- 
con, Cotterill,  Mrs.  Cousin.  Denny.  Gill, 
Lynch.  Samuel  Longfellow,  Macduff,  Massie, 
Medley.  Stennett,  Miss  Waring,  Whittier  or 
Wreford  is  found  in  this  hymnary.  They  are 
represented  by  ninety-six  hymns  (thirty-three 
important),  occurring  two  hundred  and  twen- 
ty-live times  In  the  other  books. 

This  Episcopal  hymnal  omits  thirty-seven 
hymns  which  are  in  all  of  the  other  books; 
one  hundred  and  nine  which  are  in  five  other 
hooks;  ninety-six  which  are  in  four  of  the 
others.  Thus  less  than  two-thirds  of  the 
hymns  most  nearly  unanimously  settled  upon 
by  the  other  books  are  found  in  this.  It  has 
a  total  of  six  hundred  and  seventy-nine 
hymns,  as  many  as  can  well  be  put  into  a 
book  the  word  edition  of  which  is  so  fre- 
quently bound  together  with  the  prayer-book 
for  carrying  in  the  hand.  A  goodly  portion 
of  these  hymns,  forty-eight  in  number,  are 
for  children.  None  of  Miss  Warner's  are 
among  them,  but  American  writers,  except- 
ing three  or  four  Bishops,  are  slighted  by  this 
book.  It  is  not  richly  furnished  with  in- 
dexes, which  would  unduly  increase  its  bulk. 
While  the  exigencies  of  the  Church  Year 
compel  this  hymnary  to  differ  from  the  oth- 
ers, yet  it  appears  from  our  analysis  that  the 
Episcopalians  have  not  a  praise  book  equal 
to  the  standard  of  our  decade. 

In  1S92,  also,  Dr.  Robinson  brought  forth 
his  "  New  Laudes  Domini."    It  has  two  hun- 


dred and  seventy-five  hymns  of  our  ten  last- 
century  writers— only  sixteen  less  than  in 
"  Laudes  Domini,"  and  approximately  one- 
fourth  of  his  whole  number.  In  both  books 
he  holds  rather  too  tenaciously  to  the  old.  It 
would  be  hard,  for  example,  to  show  that 
.Miss  Steele  has  twenty-one  hymns  worthy  of 
retention  in  our  day,  or  Watts  one  hundred 
and  fifteen.  Withal.  Tate  and  Brady  have 
hardly  enough. 

In  the  next  period,  Dr.  Robinson  has  rather 
more  than  a  fair  proportion  of  Kelly  and 
Hastings,  and  less  of  Alford  and  Neale,  but 
on  the  whole  maintains  a  wise  balance. 

When  we  come  to  writers  of  the  class  yet 
living,  or  deceased  within  twenty-five  years, 
we  find  Dr.  Robinson  offsetting  the  Protest- 
ant Episcopal  hymnal,  having  twenty-seven 
of  Dr.  Palmer's  noble  hymns,  and  being  more 
or  less  deficient  in  the  productions  of  Chan- 
dler. Caswall,  Bajser,  Miss  Winkworth,  Miss 
Borthwick,  Mrs.  Alexander.  Ellerton.  How 
and  Dix.  If  Dr.  Robinson  had  been  a  little 
severer  with  his  beloved  ancients,  and  a  little 
more  appreciative  of  our  more  sentimental 
moderns,  his  latest  book  might  have  been 
accepted  as  "  Laudes  Domini  in  Excelsis." 
Of  the  minor  writers,  however,  he  has  a 
widely  and  wisely  chosen  selection,  omitting 
only  Downton  and  Mrs.  Van  Alstyne,  who 
have  ten  hymns,  chosen  sixteen  times  in  the 
other  books.  Dr.  Robinson  omits  sixteen 
hymns  which  are  in  all  the  other  books,  thir- 
ty-five that  are  in  five,  and  fifty-seven  that 
are  in  four.  He  thus  has  five-sixths  of  the 
most  favored  hymns  of  our  day. 

No  emphasis  is  laid  upon  hymns  for  chil- 
dren in  the  "  New  Laudes  Domini."  This 
book,  too,  wastes  space  by  repeating  the  first 
stanza  of  each  hymn.  It  has  too  many  hymns 
without  separate  tunes,  and  the  music  is  set 
too  closely  for  the  words  printed  therewith, 
in  many  instances  necessitating  crowding.  It 
is  strange  that  Dr.  Robinson  should  have  re- 
tained "  Day  of  Judgment,  Day  of  Wonders, ' . 
and  returned  to  "  The  Voice  of  Free  Grace 
Cries."  His  biographical  index  of  authors 
is  a  most  interesting  feature.  His  classifica- 
tions and  indexes  are  most  accurate,  and  al- 
together his  latest  book  is  not  outclassed  by 
the  others  which  have  been  enriched  so  great- 
ly by  his  labors. 

Quincy,  Mass. 


2964 


The    Independent 


Parson  Kelley.  By  A.  E.  W.  Mason  and 
Andrew  Lang.  (New  York:  Longmans,  Green 
&  Co.  $1.50.)  Here  is  a  good  combination — 
a  partnership  wholly  satisfying.  "  Mason  & 
Lang,  Romancers,"  the  sign  should  read, 
hanging  over  a  book-dusty  literary  shop  in  a 
goodly  London  street  that  we  know  of.  Fine 
traces  of  Dumas  pere,  echoes  of  old  ballads, 
the  brilliance  of  the  Montagus,  the  flash  of 
small  swords,  the  atmosphere  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century's  first  quarter  in  England  and 
France,  rattling  romance  done  up  in  finieally 
line  literature,  a  smack  of  Virgil  and  Theoc- 
ritus dashed  into  modern  adventure  -a  glori- 
ous hotch-potch,  indeed,  and  a  downright  en- 
gaging  stmy  all  around.  We  will  not  divulge 
the  plot,  for  that  is  the  backbone  of  the  book, 
but  we  insist  upon  saying  that  Wogan  and 
Kelley  and  Scrope  are  a  trio  to  warm  the  ro- 
mance-reader's blood  to  the  bubbling  point. 
If  Parson  Kelley  does  not  turn  out  to  be  a 
prime  favorite  with  the  critics  and  the  public 
we  shall  feel  sure  that  the  public  and  the 
critics  are  very  dull. 

The  Chronicles  oe  Aunt  Minebvy  Ann. 
By  Joe!  Chandler  Harris.  (New  York: 
Charles  Scribner's  Sons.  $1.50.)  Mr.  Harris 
has  his  limitations,  no  doubt,  but  our  enjoy- 
ment of  his  transcripts  from  negro  life  has 
none  that  we  know  of.  Aunt  Minervy  Ann 
Perdue  is  a  character  to  be  framed  in  the 
reader's  memory.  Once  known  she  will 
never  be  forgotten.  Mr.  Harris's  vision  of 
the  old  time  darky  is  absolute.  But  along 
with  an  admirably  dramatic  presentation  of 
Minervy  Ann  we  have  some  notable 
sketches  of  Georgia  whites  done  in  broad 
wash,  if  we  may  so  call  it,  which  give  a  liberal 
impression  of  a  certain  stratum  of  Southern 
existence  at  the  beginning  of  the  "  Recon- 
struction Period."  This  chronicle,  indeed, 
gives  Mr.  Harris  an  opportunity  to  put  in  all 
the  lights  and  shades  of  a  very  picturesque 
life.  Some  of  his  touches  are,  perhaps,  a 
trifle  toi/  grotesque;  but  as  a  whole  the  book 
stands  out  strong,  peculiar,  full  of  a  charm- 
ing genius.  The  numerous  illustrations  by 
Mr.  A.  B.  Frost  are  true  to  the  story  and  its 
people. 

DlONYSIUS,    THE    WeAVEK's    HEART'S    Dea'b- 

est.    By  Blanche  Willis  Howard.    (New  York: 
Charles    Scribner's    Sous.      $1.50.)      A    good 


story  was  never  more  foolishly  loaded  down 
with  a  name  than  is  this.  A  charming  art, 
however,  prevents  the  break-down  which  is 
due.  We  do  not  often  meet  with  literary 
craftsmanship  of  a  mote  attractive  sort,  and 
the  story,  as  a  story,  is  distinctly  fresh  and 
strong.  The  author's  long  residence  on  the 
continent  has  given  her  command  of  the  life 
she  depicts;  and  while  we  do  not  find  in  this 
novel  the  charm  of  "  Guenn,"  there  is  a 
strong  attraction  in  it  which  holds  to  the 
end.  A  pleasant  half-day  is  in  store  for  a 
host  of  readers. 

Letters  or  Sidney  Lanier.  Selections 
from  His  Correspondence.  1S0G-1S81.  With  Por- 
traits. (New  York:  Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 
$2.00.)  Sidney  Lanier's  life  was  a  beautiful 
one— as  sad  as  it  was  lovely— and  reading 
these  letters  gives  a  sweet  emphasis  to  the 
impression  made  by  his  poetry.  The  larger 
part  of  the  letters  were  written  to  Mr.  Gib- 
son Peacock  and  to  Bayard  Taylor,  altho 
there  are  several  to  Paul  Hayne.  A  number 
of  Taylor's  letters  to  Lanier  are  also  includ- 
ed, and  many  notes  on  music  and  musical  im- 
pressions give  the  curiously  rapturous  de- 
light with  which  Lanier  heard  many  of  the 
world's  most  famous  singers  and  musicians. 
All  through  the  correspondence  runs  the  po- 
et's sweet  cheerfulness,  which  was  main- 
tained against  troubles,  adversities  and  ill- 
ness bitter  enough  to  have  crushed  almost 
any  spirit.  Two  portraits  of  Lanier  and  a 
fac-simile  of  a  letter  to  Bayard  Taylor  ap- 
pear in  the  book. 

Tramping  With  Tramps.  Studies  and 
Sketches  of  Vagabond  Life.  By  Josiali 
Flynt.  (New  York:  The  Century  Company. 
$1.50.)  To  every  person  who  has  the  slight- 
est desire  to  read  the  great  book  of  human 
nature  in  its  lowest  lines.  Mr.  Flynt's 
sketches  of  tramp-life  and  studies  of  the 
criminal  temperament  must  prove  absorb- 
ingly interesting.  What  good  may  finally 
conic  of  such  investigations  as  are  here  de- 
scribed we  cannot  say.  The  whole  subject 
has  a  discouraging  atmosphere;  but  we  shall 
doubtless  gain  a  strong  light  by  which  to 
rearrange  our  dealings  with  the  idle,  the  re- 
fractory and  the  criminal  classes,  all  of 
which  lend  to  coalesce.  Mr.  Flynt's  adven- 
tures as  a  tramp  are  told  with  a  cold,  con- 


7U 


'6  7l 


ov 


T? 


LITERATURE 


Some  Recent  Hymnaries. 
By  the  Rev.   Robert  Westly  Peach. 

II. 

"  The  Hymnal "  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  adopted  also  by  the  Congregational 
Publishing  House,  appeared  in  1895.  It 
gives  nearly  one-fifth  of  its  space  to  the  lead- 
ing eighteenth  century  authors,  a  fair  pro- 
portion. Its  predecessors  had  thirty-five  of 
Miss  Steele's  hymns;  it  has  but  five,  which 
is  swinging  rather  too  far  the  other  way. 
Newton  hardly  receives  his  dues. 

The  older  nineteenth  century  hymnists  fare 
well  in  this  book,  altho  Kelly,  Faber  and  Al- 
ford  have  some  of  their  excellent  hymns 
omitted.  The  later  principal  writers  also  are 
as  a  whole  drawn  upon  liberally  and  dis- 
creetly, except  that  the  book  does  scant  jus- 
tice to  Palmer,  and  could  well  give  Mrs. 
Alexander  a  s  somewhat  larger  place.  It 
agrees  with  the  Episcopal  book  in  an  over- 
fondness  for  How,  Turing,  Bickersteth  and 
Dix. 

This  hymnary  agrees  with  those  of  Bedell 
and  Robinson  in  excluding  the  blind  author 
of  three  thousand  praise  songs,  but  Mrs.  Van 
Alstyne  (Fanny  Crosby)  has  a  number  of 
hymns  which  will  yet  find  a  place  in  the  best 
collections.  It  also  omits  "  We  Would  See 
Jesus,"  and  "  One  More  Day's  Work  for 
Jesus  "  aud  other  of  Miss  Warner's  hymns 
of  loving  service,  and  has  no  room  for  Cooke, 
Cotterill,  W.  C.  Doane,  Littledale,  Massie, 
Macduff,  Maelagan,  Moultrie,  Onderdonk  and 
Whitfield.  Combined,  these  have  forty-seven 
hymns  in  the  other  books  (seventeen  impor- 
tant), occurring  ninety-two  times. 

Five  hymns  which  are  in  all  the  other 
books,  "The  Hymnal"  omits;  also  thirty 
which  find  place  in  five  books,  and  seventy 
in  four.  Like  the  "  New  Laudes  Domini,"  it 
has  five-sixths  Of  the  staple  hymns  of  this 
decade. 

This  Presbyterian  book  is  deficient  in 
hymns  for  children.  Its  progressiveness  is 
indicated  by  the  inclusion  of  Barnby's  set- 


ting of  Tennyson's  "  Sunset  and  Evening 
Star."  It  has  the  good  rule  of  printing  the 
first  stanza  with  the  music  and  the  remain- 
ing ones  under  it,  without  repetition.  It 
made  a  useful  innovation  in  placing  the  in- 
dexes of  first  lines  and  of  tunes  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  book,  and  another,  in  indexing 
first  lines  of  different  stanzas  with  which  the 
same  hymn  begins  in  other  books.  The 
classification  and  indexes  are  thoroughly  full 
and  accurate.  The  editing  and  proof-reading 
are  exceptionally  scholarly  and  correct.  Each 
page  is  typographically  beautiful,  with  its 
black  letter  heading  and  its  well-spaced  mu- 
sical settings.  In  several  respects  this  book 
marked  a  decided  advance  over  all  its  prede- 
cessors. Its  worst  limitations  arise  from  the 
editor's  ambition  to  keep  close  to  the  bounds 
of  seven  hundred  hymns.  Another  hundred 
or  more,  chosen  with  equal  judgment,  would 
have  made  this  book  a  triumph. 

The  Century  Company  brought  out  "  In 
Excelsis  "  in  1897.  It  gives  to  the  principal 
eighteenth  century  writers  a  little  less  than 
one-sixth  of  its  space,  and  wants  some  of  the 
good  hymns  of  Watts,  Miss  Steele  and  New- 
ton. Further  back,  Tate  and  Brady  are 
scantily  represented  in  it. 

Of  the  older  authors  of  our  century,  Kelly 
and  Hastings  are  rather  slighted,  and  Neale 
is  overfavored.  Of  our  best  more  recent 
hymnists,  Bonar  and  Mrs.  Alexander  are  not 
used  as  fully  as  they  deserve,  while  Chand- 
ler, Caswall,  Thring  and  Bickersteth  are 
overworked.  Tnis  hymnary  is  remaruaDle 
for  its  full  treatment  of  the  more  important 
minor  writers— only  Bishops  Woodford  and 
W.  C.  Doane  being  left  out.  They  have  nine 
hymns,  given  on  an  average  twice  each  in 
the  other  books.  It  is  unique  in  its  closeness 
of  adherence  to  what  a  critic  calls  "  the  ma- 
jority principle,"  for  it  contains  over  six  hun- 
dred of  the  six  hundred  and  forty 
hymns  common  to  four  or  more  of 
our  seven  books.  'Tis  not  overlooked  that 
two  of  them  are  later  than  "  In  Excelsis,"— 
nor  that  other  books  went  before  the  seven. 
The  principal  method  of  its  compilation  is 

3091 


3092 


The   Independent 


apparent.  Of  the  hymns  which  are  found  in 
six,  five  and  four  of  the  seven  hyninaries,  all 
but  five,  four  and  twenty-eight,  respectively, 
are  in  "  In  Excelsis." 

This  book  follows  the  Presbyterian  Hymnal 
in  certain  excellences,  putting-  the  indexes  of 
first  lines  (with  the  first  lines  of  variant 
forms  of  certain  hymns  noted)  and  of  tunes 
at  the  beginning-:  having  the  same  well- 
spaced  pages  with  black-letter  headings; 
never  repeating  the  first  stanza  of  a  hymn. 
It  is  deficient,  likewise,  in  children's  hymns. 
Its  numbers  219  and  239  are  variants  of  the 
same  hymn,  and  No.  46  is  duplicated  in  No. 
849.  It  lias  a  <|iieer  page  of  "  supplementary 
hymns  "  without  tunes,  and  thirty-nine  "  sup- 
plementary tunes,"  an  awkward  arrange- 
ment, caused  either  by  a  lack  of  skill  or  care, 
or  by  an  afterthought.  It  lacks  an  index  of 
Scripture  texts.  One  excellent  feature  pecul- 
iar to  itself  is  the  printing  of  hymn-credits 
in  very  fine  type  and  using  only  the  initials 
of  the  authors'  Christian  names.  The  sing- 
er's eye  hardly  notices  the  credit,  and  the 
worshiper  has  not  his  attention  distracted. 

The  year  of  grace  1898  gave  light  to  a  new 
Baptist  book,  "  Sursum  Corda,"  issued  also 
without  the  distinctive  Baptist  hymns,  for 
general  use.  It  is  deficient  in  the  devotions 
of  Doddridge,  Miss  Steele  and  Newton,  and 
has  disproportionately  many  of  John  Wes- 
ley's. Tate  and  Brady  are  not  drawn  upon 
largely  enough.  It  has  a  strong  and  unbe- 
coming bias  against  Montgomery  and  Kelly, 
Is  deficient  in  Hastings's  sturdy  hymns,  and 
Neale's  beautiful  expressions  of  praise,  has 
an  excess  of  appreciation  of  Faber,  and 
ranks  T.  H.  Gill  among  the  major  hymnists. 

As  to  the  later  writers,  this  book  is  excel- 
lently balanced,  altho  possibly  slightly  defi- 
cient in  the  pieces  of  chandler,  Palmer,  Miss 
Winkwoith.  Miss  Bosthwick  and  Mrs.  Alex- 
ander. Of  minor  writers,  Baynes,  Cotterill, 
Downton,  Macduff,  Mason  and  Osier  find  no 
place  in  "  Sursum  Corda."  Of  the  hymns 
which  occur  in  all  the  other  books,  in  five, 
and  in  four  of  them,  it  omits,  respectively, 
ten,  twenty-six  and  sixty-lour,  and  has  over 
five-sixths  of  those  most  generally  favored 
by  our  present  compilers. 

This  hyinnary  has  only  eleven  pieces  for 
children,    it  retains  the  old  fashion  of  keep 

ing  all  indexes  al    the  close  of  the  hook,  and 


has  no  index-of  texts;  but  it  has  an  excellent 
biographical  index  of  authors.  It  refrains 
from  capitalizing  personal  pronouns  applied 
to  the  Deity,  agreeing  in  this  with  Dr.  Rob- 
inson's book;  all  the  rest,  happily,  use  the 
capitals,  as  expressions  of  and  aids  to  devo- 
tion. It  indexes  the  first  lines  of  different 
stanzas  with  which  some  hymns  begin  in 
other  books,  an  excellence;  but  adheres  to 
the  antiquated  strict  alphabetical  order,  in- 
stead of  grouping  first  lines  beginning  with 
the  same  word  or  words,  thus: 
"  I  do  not  ask  that  life  may  be  .  .  ." 
"  If  thou  but  suffer  God  to  guide  thee  .  .  .  ' 
"  I  gave  my  life  for  thee    ..." 

The  middle  line  should  come  last,  and  af  ter 
all  lines  beginning  with  the  pronoun  I,  and 
so  in  all  similar  cases.  Hymn  376  is  repeat- 
ed, dropping  one  stanza,  in  766.  This  book 
lacks  uniformity,  sometimes  printing  the  sec- 
ond stanza  of  a  hymn  immediately  under  the 
music,  sometimes  repeating  the  first  stanza : 
now  crediting  a  piece  to  C.  Wesley,  then  to 
Charles  Wesley.  It  still  assigns  "We  would 
see  Jesus "  to  Ellen  Ellis.  Too  often  the 
hymn  has  its  setting  on  the  opposite  page. 
The  notes  are  closely  set,  giving  too  little 
room  for  accompanying  words.  But  there  is 
a  purpose  in  this.  With  the  same  number 
of  hymns,  very  nearly,  as  "  In  Excelsis."  this 
book  gives  about  one  hundred  more  tunes, 
and  another  hundred  more  repetitions  of 
tunes,  and  does  it  in  almost  one  hundred  less 
pages.  "  In  Excelsis  "  is  its  nearest  competi- 
tor in  the  number  of  tunes.  "  Sursum  Cor- 
da "  gives  a  larger  choice  of  tunes,  new  and 
old,  for  a  given  number  of  hymns  than  any 
other  book.  It  was  quite  excessive  to  give 
live  to  "  There  is  a  fountain  filled  with 
blood.  "  and  the  best-known  tune  not  among 
them.  The  book,  in  fact,  offers  too  many 
alternate  settings,  and  thus  has  pages  crowd- 
ed sometimes  to  confusion.  Withal,  it  is 
edited  with  scholarly  care,  is  catholic  and 
progressive;  witness  to  the  last  point  the  in- 
clusion of  Kipling's  "  Recessional."  This 
book  and  the  next  also,  have  Tennyson's 
"  Crossing  the  Bar." 

"The  Church  Hymuary  "  is  a  good  title, 
for  it  has  been  appropriated  across  the  water, 
in  1S98,  by  the  Presbyterian  Churches  of 
Scotland— Established,  Free  and  United— and 
the   Presbyterian  Church  of  Ireland,    Here 


Literature 


P93 


the  critics  at  last  have  their  ideal  book.  It 
has  but  little  over  six  hundred  numbers,  and 
it  has  been  produced,  most  evidently,  under 
the  rule  of  "  good  poetry  and  good  hymns." 
It  is  full  of  hymns  of  sentiment.  The  old 
writers  heretofore  used  as  a  basis  of  com- 
parison furnish  but  one-eighth  of  its  pages. 
It  is  fair  toward  the  Wesleys  and  Newton 
and  rich  in  Cowper,  but  reduces  Watts  to 
twelve  hymns  (who  perhaps  never  before 
came  so  near  to  extinguishment),  gives  Dod- 
dridge six,  and  can  find  only  "  Father, 
whate'er  of  earthly  bliss  "  worthy  of  reten- 
tion out  of  all  that  Miss  Steele  wrote.  Tate 
and  Brady  also  are  represented  by  a  solitary 
piece.  In  its  radical  exclusion  of  old  hymns 
our  Scottish  book  is  chargeable  with  a  se- 
rious deficiency,  if  worshipers  are  to  be 
considered  in  compiling  a  book  of  praises, 
and  what  they  love  is  to  be  balanced  against 
what  the  editors  and  their  academic  critics 
admire. 

Dr.  Hastings,  again,  is  reduced  to  two 
hymns,  and  Palmer  has  only  five;  there  is  a 
deficiency  also  of  Neale  and  Monsell;  other- 
wise the  leading  writers  of  our  century  are 
well  represented,  Baker,  Mrs.  Alexander, 
Miss  Havergal,  Ellerton,  How  and^Dix  being 
excessively  favored. 

Minor  writers  arc  excluded  in  large  num- 
ber: Anstice,  Leonard  Bacon,  Mrs.  Barbauld, 
Beddome,  Bowring.  Campbell,  Collyer, 
Cooke,  Cotterill,  W.  C.  Doane,  Hammond,  T. 
Haweis,  Littledale,  Lynch,  Mackellar,  Med- 
ley, Moultrie,  Onderdonk,  Osier,  A.  T.  Rus- 
sell, Stennett,  Whitfield,  and  Woodford  are 
some  of  them,  and  these  have  one  hundred 
and  seventeen  hymns  in  the  other  books  (for- 
ty-two major  hymns;  among  them  "  In  the 
cross  of  Christ  I  glory  "). 

This  book  lacks  sixty-three  hymns  that  are 
sn  all  the  other  books,  one  hundred  and  twen- 
ty-three that  occur  in  five,  and  one  hundred 
and  fifteen  in  four,  a  total  of  nearly  one-half 
of  those  most  largely  in  use  in  our  latest 
hymnaries. 

Here,  however,  we  find  editing  at  its  best. 
In  the  preface,  acknowledgments  are  tabu- 
lated, showing  that  no  hymn  has  been  in- 
cluded except  by  permission,  when  any  one 
entitled  to  grant  permission  could  be  found. 
Throughout  the  book  each  hymn  has  an  ap- 
propriate text  of  Scripture  prefixed  in  full, 


and  these  texts  are  indexed  at  the  close. 
Each  hymn  has  marks  of  expression  set  be- 
fore its  lines.  Nowhere  else  have  such  pains 
been  taken  with  the  text  of  the  hymns,  and 
a  tabulated  appendix  to  the  large-type  word 
edition  gives  a  history  of  alterations.  One 
alteration  made  by  the  editors  is  commended 
to  our  American  Protestant  hymnarists.  It 
makes  the  closing  line  of  each  stanza  of  Mil- 
man's  beautiful  prayer,  "  When  our  heads 
are  bowed  with  woe,"  read  "  Jesus,  Man  of 
Sorrows,  hear."  This  was  originally,  "  Gra- 
cious Son  of  Mary,  hear."  What  could  be 
finer  than  the  changed  form,  which,  more- 
over, has  a  deeper  significance. 

Fanny  Crosby  has  four  '.ymns  in  this  book. 
It  has  almost  one  hundred  hymns  for  chil- 
dren, calling  upon  Miss  Warner  for  two  of 
her  best.  In  general,  American  writers  are 
not  neglected,  altho  the  choice  of  their  pieces 
is  sometimes  strange.  The  two  hymns  of 
Holmes  which  are  uest  known,  for  example, 
are  omitted,  and  one  almost  unknown 
chosen.  Altogether,  the  Scottish-Irish  com- 
mittee is  better  at  editing  than  at  compiling. 

In  making  the  foregoing  estimates  and 
comparisons,  certain  considerations  have  been 
borne  in  mind.  First,  the  size  of  the  book; 
then  the  number  of  available  hymns  of  any 
given  author;  then  the  trend  of  our  day  to- 
ward or  away  from  a  hymnist's  wTork.  To  il- 
lustrate: Miss  Steele,  Beddome,  Stennett, 
Toplady,  Hastings,  Miss  Winkworth,  and 
Miss  Bosthwick.  among  others,  are  falling  in 
me  general  estimation  of  hymnarists,  while 
the  Wesleys,  Cowper,  Heber,  Lyte,  Keble, 
Miss  Elliott,  Wordsworth  and  Turing  are 
being  more  highly  valued  tnan  ever  before. 
*  ourth,  the  necessities  of  classification,  mak- 
ing it  imperative  to  balance  the  number  of 
hymns  under  a  given  heading;  and  then  that 
other  necessity  of  admitting  certain  fine 
tunes,  and  along  with  them  the  hymns  which 
they  have  made  popular. 

These  estimates  have  been  concerned  with 
hymns,  not  tunes.  As  thorough-going  analy- 
ses would  be  required  to  make  just  compari- 
sons from  the  musical  standpoint,  and  the 
final  valuation  of  a  book  would  wait  upon 
the  combined  results.  The  writer  is  unable, 
even  from  the  hymnarist's  standpoint,  to 
suggest  an  exact  order  of  these  books,  from 
best  to  least  good;  he  is  only  sure  that  the 


>Q94 


The   Independent 


latest  is  not  first,  nor  the  oldest  last,  nor  the 
one  in  which  he  is  most  interested  at  the 
head.  Kasy  declarations  of  supremacy  are 
well  enough  for  advertising  circulars  or  for 
testimonials  from  hasty  examiners;  but  the 
fact  is  that  all  of  the  five  books  which  come 
into  closest  comparison  are  of  a  high  excel- 
lence that  is  most  gratifying  to  one  who  loves 
the  praises  of  God  in  the  sanctuary. 

QuiNt  v,   Mass. 


Mr.  Ford's  New  Romance.* 

There  is  a  genuine  luxury  in  reading  a 
good,  strong,  leisurely  romance,  in  which  a 
numerous  company  of  interesting  actors  play 
out  their  life-drama  before  us,  with  all  the 
attractive  changes  of  scenery  and  costume, 
and  with  the  line  shifting  of  attention  from 
incident  to  incident  which  the  clever  artist 
knows  so  well  how  to  plan.  Mr.  Ford,  in  his 
latest  story  has  surpassed  himself,  hands 
down.  He  was  wrought  with  loving  patience, 
taking  a  story-teller's  delight  in  unrolling  his 
well  studied  record.  From  the  first  page  on- 
ward he  leads  his  reader  captive  to  the  spell 
of  a  very  charming  spirit  of  romance  which 
moves  upon  the  face  of  a  great  deep  of 
words.  We  say  this  last  thing  not  to  be  iron- 
ical; for,  altho  Mr.  Ford's  fault  in  this  story 
is  unquestionably  wordiness,  the  flood  of  dic- 
tion is  always  interesting.  WTe  may  as  well 
speak  right  out,  however,  and  at  the  outset 
otter  our  objection  to  the  prolixity  which 
does  mar  what,  in  almost  every  other  respect, 
is  a  masterpiece  of  fiction.  Fifty  thousand 
words  could  be  judiciously  cut  out  of  the 
book,  leaving  it  intact  as  a  story  and  well- 
nigh  perfect  as  a  piece  of  literature. 

We  are  inclined  to  say  that  the  heroine 
here  set  before  us  is  a  genuine  creation. 
Janice  is  a  ve.ry  human  girl,  by  no  means  a 
faultless  creature  of  Mr.  Ford's  imagination, 
rather  a  strong  realization  of  an  exceptional- 
ly bright,  shifty  and  thoroughly  clever 
maiden  of  America  in  Hie  days  of  the  Rev- 
olution a  girl  notably  willful  and  not  vio- 
lentlj  scrupulous  under  a  great  strain  of  clr 
cumstances,  yet  on  the  whole  pure,  spark- 
ling, wholesome,  lovable.  She  is  well,  even 
powerfully  drawn,  and  set   for  us  in  a  solid 

*  Janice  Meredith.  A  Story  of  The  American 
Revolution.  By  Paul  Leicester  Ford.  New  York. 
Dodd,  Men  i  and  Company.    $1.50 


frame  of  history.  Behind  her  stretches  a 
liberal  background  of  the  social,  domestic, 
religious  and  political  aspects  of  the  time 
overhung  with  the  curious  raw  atmosphere 
of  a  frontier  period.  Mr.  Ford  seems  to  be 
at  home  with  his  materials.  What  he  gives 
us  wears  authenticity  on  its  face,  as  much, 
perhaps,  on  account  of  evident  faithful  study 
and  labor  as  on  account  of  the  familiar  his- 
toric figures  and  events  cleverly  introduced. 

We  have  been  impressed  with  admiration 
of  Mr.  Ford's  method  of  telling  his  story.  He 
has  not  fallen  into  the  one-character  form  of 
fiction  writing  recently  so  popular.  He  mar- 
shals his  characters  with  great  regularity, 
and  ranges  them  so  that  none  is  obscured. 
Each  is  brought  into  just  relations  with  the 
story  and  properly  makes  the  reader's  ac- 
quaintance to  just  the  extent  necessary  in  the 
scheme  of  the  narrative.  When  we  are  done 
with  Mr.  Ford's  people  we  look  back  at  them 
pleasantly,  feeling  that  they  have  actually 
lived,  and  that  we  are  indebted  to  them  for 
a  pleasant  entertainment.  They  have  not 
bored  us  with  a  theory  of  life;  they  have  not 
obtruded  their  moral  lesions  and  mental 
sores  for  our  inspection;  they  have  not  posed 
as  awful  examples  with  the  pretense  of  serv- 
ing a  great  purpose;  what  they  have  done  for 
us  can  be  described  with  few  words;  they 
have  made  us  "  forget  their  fictitious  ori- 
gin; "  they  have  entertained  us  rationally 
and  without  the  use  of  degrading  agencies, 
and  have  presented  a  period  of  American  life 
in  terms  of  its  best  aspirations. 

We  must  not  tell  the  story  of  Janice  Mer- 
edith, that  would  be  unfair  to  both  ro- 
mancer and  reader;  but  we  can  say  that 
Janice,  the  heroine,  is  a  captivating  girl, 
whose  lover  begins  his  acquaintance  with 
her  as  her  father's  bond  servant,  having  sold 
himself  to  Mr.  Meredith  under  a  colonial  law 
governing  the  importation  of  a  certain  class 
of  laborers.  Janice  falls  in  love  with  him  and 
he  with  her;  but  Mr.  Meredith,  when  the  Mai- 
ler independence  breaks  out,  is  a  royalist, 
while  the  lover  becomes  a  stanch  rebel. 
There  is  mystery  in  the  plot,  and  Janice  is 
led  a  trying  chase  In  dodging  one  lover  and 
another  in  the  course  of  her  entangling  ex- 
periences. Her  agility,  bravery,  cleverness 
and  versatility  lend  a  breezy  charm  to  the 
heavier  current  of  life  with  which  she  is  sur- 


i 


